Automatic chord diagrams transposition

• Apr 26, 2019 - 00:26

Hi, Gang!!!

I use MuseScore 3.0.5 (not the Portable AppImage) in Ubuntu Studio 18.04.2 LTS (64 bit Linux).

I know my request is not a "live/die" issue, but...

When we write an score and we add the standard guitar chord diagrams, and all the score is, let's say, in C major, of course we put the chords thinking in that tonality: C major.

BUT... What happen if the singer is not comfortable in that tonality? ???

We have to transpose the piece!!!

Well, MuseScore helps us very fine with the Transpose tools, yes!!!

BUT... That tool ONLY affects the notes, in the staves. The guitar chord diagrams remain... THE SAME!!!

We have to change it... Chord by Chord and... MANUALLY!!!

I think it would be very nice to have a tool to perform the transposition of all those chords, automatically!!!

Well... To dream is still free!!! (hi hi hi!!!)

Blessings and Greetings from CHile, South America!!!

JUAN


Comments

This is not feasible really, there are practically infinite ways to play any given chord, so even though MsueScore might realize your chord transposes to, say, Ab7b9, we'd have no way to know how you'd want this played. But, if/when we implement chord symbol playback, we could certainly try to implement further "AI" to try generate a reasonable fret diagram.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

Hi, Marc!!!

Everybody who had played a guitar sometime knows what any chord has a lot of ways to do it. Yes!!!

BUT... I'm talking about the BASIC way to play the chords.

I'm not sure if there is some international standard about that but... C major has a basic way and nobody is asking MuseScore has ALL the ways to make it!!! NO!!! It is not the idea!!!

The idea is the basic, basic, basic, basic, most basic way to transpose the items.

Example: If the original was a F major chord (standard way with a full capo in the first bridge and the normal E major structure but from the second bridge) in the C major tonality, and we want to transpose it to A major tonality... VERY EASY!!! According to the very basic harmony rules, we just need to use basic standard D major diagram!!! (F major is the 4th degree of the C major tonality; D major is the 4th degree of the A major tonality).

That's the idea!!!

We don't have to complicate the things more than they already are.

Just an idea.

In reply to by Marc Sabatella

I was trying to do something with a plugin but I didn't know who to do it. I understand that if you want to transpose the chord diagrams, you have to have all the possibilities ready in the palette beforehand. That is a huge task to do but it can be done. The thing that stopping me doing the plugin was that I was not able to insert a chord diagram by code (I was not able to find the function to add a chord diagram to a note or to a chord name) or even to delete a chord diagram present in a score.

My idea is, supposing I have created all the possible chord diagrams I'm going to use, to create a plugin that remove the current diagrams present in a score and add new ones depending the chord name.

Is possible to do this nowadays? If not, is there the possibility that will be enabled in future plugin API development?

How does it work to add the initial chord diagram?
Is it manual or automatic (just enter chord name and diagram is generated)?

If it is manual, then it is that step that should become automatic using either the AI Marc is mentionning, either a simplified mapping for guitar of the basic chord "implementation".
Once that step is automatic, transposition would be a natural process for MuseScore.

If it is already automatic (you just enter chord name and diagram is generated by MuseScore), then nothing should prevent MuseScore to transpose (transposing the chord name and then reapplying the diagram generation).

Conclusion I don't think that your question is related to MuseScore transposing diagram, its rather linked to automatic generation of diagram, independently of any transposition.

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